This Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe has so much flavor and the perfect texture! We swap mayonnaise for fresh avocado, so it’s creamy but light and satisfying. I know, I know classic chicken salad recipes usually have mayo, but you will never miss it!
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Helpful Reader Review
“This salad is always on rotation, my son asks for it and he loves the leftovers for lunch the next day. It really is hearty and yummy!“ – Eva ★★★★★
Easy Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe
This avocado chicken salad recipe is a winner, and it is well-loved by adults and children. Since I first posted the video, it went viral with over 50 million views, making it one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Funny enough, this recipe came about from a craving I had driving home from my night shift back when I worked as a Registered Nurse!
It’s quite a bit different than our classic Chicken Salad, but everything about this is good, from the tender bites of chicken, creamy avocado, sweet corn, and crunchy bacon. Plus, you’ll want that fresh lemon dressing on all of your salads.
My son is particularly smitten with this chicken avocado salad and requests it for his birthday. It was in his top 3 requests, so you can imagine I made it for his birthday and as often as I can throughout the year. By the way, his other two were this Shrimp Dip and Caesar Salad. I love this kid.
Avocado Chicken Salad Video
You’ll love my lighter chicken salad with avocado. It’s just as creamy, flavorful, and filling as using mayo, but this is a dish you’ll feel great about eating often! If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, this chicken salad tastes just as good the next day – perfect for a to-go lunch. You all are always requesting work and school lunch ideas, and I hope you love this one!
Ingredients for Avocado Chicken Salad
This Avocado Chicken Salad has such simple ingredients, and you may already have everything you need to make it (I just love it when that happens)!
- Chicken – shredded or cubed. I use rotisserie or Roast Chicken to make prep easier, but you can also use well-drained canned chicken or Bake Chicken Breasts before shredding or cutting them into bite-sized pieces.
- Avocados – I use two avocados. You’ll want nearly ripe or perfectly ripe avocado for this salad.
- Corn – You’ll need 1 cup, or 1 ear of corn. You can rinse canned corn, cook frozen corn, use Grilled Corn or Boiled Corn. You can also microwave unshucked corn for 3-4 minutes. If you want to keep this salad Paleo, just omit the corn.
- Bacon – I prefer lean cuts of bacon (see how to cook bacon without a mess). If you’re looking to cut fat, I use turkey bacon instead.
- Herbs – Dill and Chives – If you prefer you can swap the dill with cilantro or the chives for green onions
- Dressing ingredients – lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper
- Hard-boiled eggs – Optional, but these add great protein to the salad. Peel, cut, or quarter, and then add to the salad ingredients.
Substitutions/ Variations
We love this just as it is, but you can use these easy substitutions to make it your own.
- Protein – omit the chicken or swap with hard-boiled eggs, leftover shrimp, or chickpeas
- Veggies – swap the corn or add other seasonal veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, or red peppers
- Pasta – Try mixing in a cup of bowtie pasta or any small-shaped pasta.
- Add heat – chop jalapeno or add a shake of red pepper flakes to the dressing.
Helpful Reader Review
“Stellar recipe!! Used turkey bacon for the first time ever and could NOT tell a difference, thanks for the tip! Also used a cup of frozen corn and just heated It up in pan until it got a little char to it. D-E-L-I-S-H😋” – Sam ★★★★★
How to Make Avocado Chicken Salad
- Dice or shred two chicken breasts or 2 cups of rotisserie chicken into a mixing bowl.
- Peel and dice avocado into bite-sized pieces. Careful! I’ve met too many people with avocado-cutting injuries. Add the pieces to the bowl.
- Add the corn, onion, bacon, and dill to the bowl.
- Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and then pour over the salad ingredients. Toss to combine. Add the hard-boiled egg if using, but don’t stir too vigorously after adding them.
How to Serve Avocado Chicken Salad
This avocado chicken salad is deliciously versatile. It is a protein-packed salad so it’s perfect for work lunch or meal prep and the lemon keeps it fresh and vibrant. Serve this chicken salad:
- As a main course salad alongside crusty Sourdough Bread
- In Croissants, Pita Bread, Hamburger Buns, Tortillas, or Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Or scooped up with Pita Chips or Sourdough Crackers
- In lettuce cups for chicken salad lettuce wraps
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
This is a great salad to Make-Ahead because it tastes even better once the flavors meld the next day.
- Make-Ahead: If you know you won’t be serving it immediately, wait to cut and add the avocado until right before serving. Mix the salad and cover. Refrigerate overnight or until ready to serve.
- To Refrigerate: Cover leftovers with plastic wrap directly over the surface of the salad. This will help to slow the browning of the avocados. Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
This Avocado Chicken Salad recipe is one of my (and my son’s) very favorite salad recipes; seriously tasty and easy, hearty but feel-good food at the same time. It’s a win-win-win! Try this easy chicken salad today.
Avocado Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Avocado Chicken Salad Ingredients:
- 2 large cooked chicken breasts, shredded or chopped
- 2 large avocados
- 1 cup corn, from 1 cooked cob
- 6 oz lean bacon, cooked and chopped
- 1/4 cup Chives , (or green onion), chopped
- 2 Tbsp Dill, chopped, or to taste
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, Optional, halved or quartered
Lemon Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Dice or shred the 2 large cooked chicken breasts and place them into a large mixing bowl.
- Peel and pit 2 large avocados, slice into bite-sized pieces and add to the mixing bowl.
- Add 1 cup of cooked corn (freshly cooked corn is best), toss in chopped green onion, chopped bacon, and fresh Dill.
- Make the dressing – add the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Drizzle the dressing over your salad and toss to combine. Serve with slices of hard-boiled egg if desired.
Notes
**For a healthier salad, you can use uncured turkey bacon which tastes amazing but has less fat. Make-ahead – Mix all the ingredients except the avocado and hard-boiled egg. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Add the avocado and egg just before serving. Storage – To store leftovers, cover the dish with plastic wrap, ensuring the wrap is touching to top of the salad to slow the browning of the avocado pieces. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Easy Salad Recipes
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- Taco Salad
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- Caesar Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
You have boiled eggs in the picture but not in the recipe
Hi Camille, the boiled eggs are optional and sometimes I make the salad with eggs for extra protein and sometimes I leave them out.
Can you make this and leave the corn out? Or maybe have a suggestion of something to put in instead of the corn?
Hi Wendy, you leave the corn out or replace it with sliced cucumber. Enjoy 😀
I replaced chicken with a can of tuna and no corn. So refreshing and just delish served on a bed of lettuce.
Yum, that sounds good! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review Amy!
I love this salad. I madden it without the bacon to save calories. It was just as good. Well, nothing beats bacon. I was wondering… The recipe states 324 calories a serving, but what is a serving. It doesn’t state. Do you know?
Hi Alesia, I’m so happy you love the recipe! I usually have the serving size towards the top of the print-friendly recipe card. This salad serves 6 as a side salad. 🙂
Natasha! I first saw this on Facebook and copied it to my notes file. Tonight I made it for my husband and myself…. wish I had made it sooner!! It was so yummy! The flavor combinations were spot on! And ….. no leftovers! This will be a go to recipe for us!! Thanks! Nancy
You’re welcome Nancy! I’m glad to hear how much you and your husband enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Today is my 4th time making this and it’s now one of my favorites to make. Thank you so much for sharing.
My pleasure Kathie! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe enough to put it in your regular rotation. Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Loved the salad, i used pomegranate instead of sweet corn and it went really well. yum yum
Yum, that sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe Paul, thanks for sharing!
Tried this today and OMG! It’s sooooooo good! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you love it, thanks so much for sharing!
I loved this salad with less of the dill. fresh dill is super strong, it may be a good idea to add less at first because you can always add more, I like dill, but it was pretty overwhelming for me. I still make this but with half the amount.
Hi Barbie, I’m glad you enjoyed the salad. You can absolutely add dill to taste :). I added that little note above for folks who maybe aren’t accustomed to eating dill. I just love the stuff 🙂
Do think this salad would be good with crumbled blue cheese or gorgonzola?
I haven’t tried those cheeses. Couple readers recommended feta cheese. If you experiment with those cheeses, let us know what you think.
If I’m using canned chicken, can u give me the quantity amount of how much I should use?
Hi Mags, you could add it to preference but 1 to 2 of the larger cans of chicken, well drained would work great 🙂
I see eggs in here but not in the recipe…..js
Hi Julie, the hard boiled eggs are optional. Sometimes I make the salad with for extra protein and sometimes without.
If replacing dill with cilantro would lime juice be better than lemon for the dressing?
Hi Kim, I haven’t tried this salad with lime juice so I’m not 100% sure. It would still taste really really good with either dill or cilantro and the lemon 🙂
Oh my goodness! This salad is absolutely amazing! I work the midnight shift and this is perfect for my dinner. It doesn’t leave me feeling too full or sluggish. I added a few sunflower seeds and dried cranberries as well…just a sprinkle on top. Thank you!!!
You’re welcome Debbie! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe. I will have to try your additions, it sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your outstanding review!
Hi, Natasha! I love your videos. Could the corn be optional? My hubby and I are doing the no carb thing and I love this dish. It looks so good!! Thank you! 🙂
Hi Michele, yes this salad would work great even without the corn. If you wanted to substitute, you could add cucumbers, just keep in mind the cucumbers will soften if you have leftovers so the salad stores better without the cucumbers. We just posted another version of this salad with salmon and cucumbers.
Great, thank you! I will try cucumber next time. Made it Friday night and it was a hit!
Awesome, I’m glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing Michele!
Yhis looks so good but is there anything I can substitute the dill with, I’m usually not a fan of dill?
Hi Nidya, you could omit the dill or replace it with fresh chopped cilantro to give it more flavor 🙂
Hi, I’m definitely going to,make this over the weekend. But would this work with grilled or roasted?
Thanks
Hi Lamar, it will work great with grilled chopped chicken or roasted chicken – it would even work great with sautéed chicken 🙂
This looks soooo delicious! Definitely going to try it!!
It’s one of my most popular recipes, I hope you love it Kathy!
The pictures show chopped hard cooked eggs yet they were not used in the video. Why? Forgotten?
Hi, we put those as optional in the recipe since sometimes we add them and sometimes we don’t :).
Just made this for supper and we loved it! Substituted canned corn and bottled lemon juice as that’s what I had on hand. Delicious!
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing your review Cindy!